Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation

The operations of the financial industry will go through fundamental changes given disruptive innovation from the prevalence of the Internet, mobile communications, social networking websites, cloud-computing and big data. Governments across the globe see the development of financial technology (FinTech) as a matter of great importance, and have sought to capture the new trend through deregulation, establishment of dedicated government units, and organization of consulting meetings in an attempt to formulate adequate policies. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) launched a “Bank 3.0” program earlier this year, marking the commencement of digital finance promotion in Taiwan, to encourage local financial companies to adopt innovative technology in their services, enhancing the operating efficiency and competitiveness, and consequently supporting the development of the FinTech industry in Taiwan. Given the rising trend of digitalized financial services, TDCC organized a seminar of “Digital Finance 3.0: Innovation and Outlook,” hosted by President Mr. Sherman Lin, on September 18, and invited experts from the academic, public and private sectors to share their opinions on the applications and latest development of digital finance.

During the seminar, Mr. Peng Hsuan-kuang, Director of the Information Systems Office of the Securities & Futures Bureau, said the Financial Technology Office, which is under direct supervision of the FSC Chairman, is drafting a blue map for FinTech policies and development in Taiwan. The Financial Technology Office will establish a subsidiary Financial Technology Consulting Committee to provide suggestions and help setting directions for FinTech development policies. For its digital finance policies, the FSC has four major objectives: (1) providing online services to investors; (2) opening public fundraising platforms for equity-based projects; (3) allowing financial institutions to invest in the information services and FinTech industries; and (4) promoting the applications of cloud-computing and big data in the securities and futures markets. Mr. Peng also mentioned that the financial sector is closely intertwined with the other industries, and any financial security loopholes could leave the other industries vulnerable to attacks. A breach of financial information security would expose investors to serious privacy and security risks, and therefore early precautionary and remedial measures are crucial to the industry. The FSC will amend and supplement laws in a timely fashion and inform investors of the updates in the shortest time possible.

TDCC President Mr. Sherman Lin said the applications of mobile technology, big data, cloud-computing, social networks and the Internet of things have and will continue to help financial companies transform their operations and provide innovative services. TDCC gathered a digital finance task force in early 2015 to plan out the digitalization of existing businesses. To date, TDCC has launched an app for shareholder e-voting, and upgraded the core IT systems. A Bank 3.0 task force was summoned in February 2015 to work on the provision of securities book entry services, replacement of account book with a mobile device, and comprehensive IT system update. TDCC also started working with Gartner in 2015 to learn about the application of the latest technologies, which should help TDCC better understand the future trends of digital finance, re-model the IT framework and eventually provide more convenient and innovative services.